Boston College Athletics
BC Volleyball Opens with Defending National Champion Stanford
August 26, 2005 | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2005
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Boston College volleyball team will hold its first-ever BC Invitational Sept. 1-3, as the Eagles host Maine, Syracuse and defending national champion Stanford. BC opens tournament play Sept. 1 in Conte Forum at 7 p.m. against third-ranked Stanford.
This will be the first time the volleyball team will play on the floor of Conte Forum as the Eagles hope to break a northeast attendance record (1946) for a collegiate volleyball match. The ground-breaking match will also be televised on CN8 on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. This will also be a first for any volleyball team in the northeast.
"We are very excited for the opportunity to play a national championship team in Stanford," head coach Andrea Leonard said. "This is also a significant time for our program to face such a strong program as we enter the competitive ACC conference. I would like to thank CN8 for its support in televising this match and creating an exciting volleyball environment in Boston."
Karolyn Kirby, a hall of fame volleyball player from Brookline, will be doing the color commentary for the game. A former Boston Globe high school Player of the Year in 1979, Kirby was recently named to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Mass. She also won a gold medal in beach volleyball at the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona, Spain, and played 10 seasons (1989-1998) in the WPVA/AVP. Kirby was deemed the "Best Player in the World" by the FIVB for three straight years (1992-1994) and was named Most Valuable Player of the WPVA four times. She was also recently named a "Top Ten Player of the Century" by USA Volleyball.
Admission to the tournament is free to the general public and there will be an autograph session with both BC and Stanford players concluding the Sept. 1 match. The Eagles, who begin their inaugural year in the ACC this season, commence conference play at College Park, MD on Sept. 20.
